It’s always bittersweet when you have to bid farewell to your favourite show once and for all, a situation Sex Education fans now know all too well.
Upon the release of the teaser in July and the start date for the new term, Netflix confirmed the eight-episode season would be the last.
The show’s creator, Laurie Nunn, who said she was feeling nervous about the season's debut, has revealed she didn’t initially plan for the Emmy-nominated comedy-drama to end just yet.
"When I went into the writers room for series four, I didn't intend for it to be the final series,” Nunn tells LADbible. “But the way that I work in terms of writing the stories, it's quite an organic, fluid, process and we're constantly rewriting and things are changing all the time.”
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Nunn said the decision for Sex Education’s permanent home time came organically as she and the other writers began crafting the new season.
“As I got further into writing the series, it just started to become really clear that the storylines were very kind of naturally coming to a conclusion and we got to the end of the episodes and realised we didn't really have any cliffhangers and I felt like all the characters were left in a place where I felt like they had some sort of catharsis - and I felt quite happy and hopeful it just felt right."
She went on to say the decision goes back to 'not overstaying your welcome'.
"It feels good to leave the show in a place where hopefully people are still wanting a bit more and there's still goodwill for it, and we haven't stretched things too far or tried to keep squeezing something out of it."
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Luckily for fans who have witnessed the embarrassing, cringeworthy and heartfelt sexcapades at Moordale over the years will get to see a well-crafted finale.
After a very, very, long break, the show returns this week and will follow the remaining characters move on from Moordale Secondary School to Cavendish Sixth Form College.
Otis (Asa Butterfield), who is still dealing with the fallout from saying goodbye to Maeve (Emma Mackey), as well as his breakup with Ruby (Mimi Keene), is no longer the only sex therapist on campus, and his bestie Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) is also mourning his relationship with Adam (Connor Swindells).
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On Eric and Adam’s breakup, Nunn explains: “For series four, I was really interested in them exploring their identities alone and not necessarily in a romantic relationship and for each of them to [build] their confidence in a separate environment away from each other, even though I think particularly for Adam, he still had some sort of painful, heartbroken feelings about that breakup. Whereas I think very much the reason that they did break up is because Eric is flying. He’s really discovering who he is and he’s on his journey and he’s just feeling himself in a great way.”
With Gatwa already booked and busy as the new Doctor Who, fans do not need to fret about not seeing much of his beloved character in Sex Education, as Nunn says he’s a massive part of season four.
“I think Ncuti is completely essential to series four. For me, I feel like the core of Sex Education is very much the friendship between Eric and Otis - That’s really the thing that anchors the show even though the show is about sex and love, it’s really about friendship and when I’m writing it, if I ever feel a bit lost, I just come back to Eric and Otis.”
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Which leads us to the question on everyone’s lips - will fans be satisfied with how Eric and Adam end up? Nunn pauses for a second and thinks carefully about how she’ll respond.
“I think… I hope people will. For me, I feel like they both end up in a place where I feel hopeful for their future and I feel like they’re on the right path and hopefully they’re both gonna thrive as they move into those young adult years.”
Sex Education returns to Netflix September 21, 2023.
Topics: TV and Film, Sex Education, Netflix
Gregory Robinson